GG Supports: Los Angeles Youth Network

GG Supports: Los Angeles Youth Network

Growing Generations has a firm belief in giving back to the communities we call home. Frequently our staff becomes involved in charitable organizations that impact the communities in which they live. More commonly than not, these organizations provide services or care for families and children. One such organization the Growing Generations is proud to support is the Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN).

Founded in 1985 as a pilot program to the High Risk Youth Project of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, LAYN serves both as a group home and continuation school for troubled and run away youth aged 12-17 in the greater Los Angeles area. Once simply an emergency nighttime shelter for homeless youth, LAYN now provides street outreach services, food, emergency shelter, transitional living, employment assistance, and educational enrichment programs.

LAYN believes in providing not just a bed for a night, but a means to long term success and independence for abused or neglected youth. As one of the few shelters licensed to care for youth in this demographic, their facilities also feature opportunities for youth to speak with caring adults, work towards earning a high school degree, receive case management and, when appropriate, help reestablishing family bonds.

In the last year LAYN has provided more than 10,000 bed nights, 35,000 meals, and directly impacted the lives of more than 2,000 teens aged 12-17. The organization is currently in the process of opening a new group home in order to help more youth in need.

Growing Generations CEO Teo Martinez serves on the board of directors and recently co-chaired the organizations 30th Anniversary Gala at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, an event which raised just shy of $300,000.

“When I was a kid the underlying assumption of my family and community was that I would one day attend college and succeed at whatever I chose to do,” said Martinez, “Mostly, these children don’t live under that same assumption. For most of them, it’s a hard, daily existence driven by their basic needs in that moment.”

In the 2014-2015 year Growing Generations is proud to have given $50,000 to this worthy cause.

If you’re interested in learning more or donating to the Los Angeles Youth Network, or if you’re a youth in need, please visit www.layn.org

Kim Bergman, PhD, a licensed psychologist of 26 years, has specialized in the area of gay and lesbian parenting, parenting by choice and third party assisted reproduction for over two decades. Dr. Bergman has created a comprehensive psychological screening, support and monitoring process for Intended Parents, Surrogates and Donors. She is the co-owner of Fertility Counseling Services and Growing Generations and is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American Psychological Association, the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. She is on the national Emeritus board of the Family Equality Council. Dr. Bergman writes, teaches and speaks extensively on parenting by choice. Along with co-authors, she published “Gay Men Who Become Fathers via Surrogacy: The Transition to Parenthood” (Journal of GLBT Family Studies, April 2010). Dr. Bergman’s is the author of the upcoming book, Your Future Family: The Essential Guide to Assisted Reproduction (Conari Press 2019). Dr. Bergman created her own family using third party assisted reproduction and she lives with her wife of 35 years. Her two daughters are in college.